Khao Yai May 2008
Khao Yai, Thailand, May 18 - 30, 2008. The TREES FOR ELEPHANTS first volunteer project involving ISV volunteers from Canada and USA, brought together staff from Wild Elephant Research and Conservation Foundation (WERF) and BTEH, along with school groups and local communities from the Khao Yai National Park area. The volunteers worked together with school children and local people to plant over 8,000 trees during the 2 week project.
The volunteer group of 15 North American university students arrived on May 18 after a long journey to the project site, located in the Pak Chong area near Khao Yai National Park. Exhausted from their journey, the volunteers were still eager to get started and after quick introductions the whole team set out to collect tree seeds. The seeds collected were prepared and planted in the WERF nursery later in the week, to plan for future group visits.
This large canopy tree is one of the target species selected for the new elephant habitat being planted for this project.
On day two the volunteers focused their efforts on capacity building; developing the project site’s potential for future visits. This meant getting dirty in the nursery, and a lot of heavy work creating a kitchen area and expanding the WERF living space. Future volunteer groups will now enjoy more room for eating and meetings. Volunteers also worked together to install a new drainage system, keeping the living area dry throughout the rainy season.
An endless task requiring diligence from the volunteers was nursery maintenance. Compost was mixed with fresh soil, bags were filled, trees were transplanted to bigger bags, seeds were soaked then planted, and tree saplings were organized and grouped by species. The volunteers also split into groups and researched target tree species. The information they gathered was shared with the group at the end of the project, and can be found online by clicking here:
Of course the 2 week project wasn’t all work, and the group couldn’t miss the opportunity to take a hike in Khao Yai National Park. This was a chance to see real wild elephant habitat, explore Thailand’s natural beauty, and to see an example of what we all hope this tree planting project will eventually grow into.
Volunteers put hours of planning into the tree planting school project. Besides planting trees themselves, they lead over 100 local school children on a 3 day camp to plant trees and build a foundation for the future of this new forest. By involving the community and the children, volunteers not only got to know the local culture, but can also rest assured that all their work planting will not go to waste.
All their planning and preparation climaxed in a 3 day camp for over 100 students, May 23 to May 25. Four schools from the surrounding area were involved, and the students were mixed into 6 groups, each lead by two volunteers. Our volunteers lead the tree planting sessions as well as educational games scheduled around the WERF elephant education program.
Volunteers lead the students on 4 planting sessions, for a total of 5 hours of planting. The results were about 3,300 trees in the ground, and great feelings of accomplishment and participation from the students and volunteers.
The camp ended off with a candle lighting ceremony, and the students left with long goodbyes and many hugs with volunteers.
The volunteers returned to the WERF project site, and worked to ensure that the next batch of volunteers will arrive to a well prepared nursery. Local workers joined them to plant the remaining trees. They ended off their 2 week period with visits to the schools to make posters to remind the students of the importance of the trees they helped to plant.
